Adjustable data rates

ABSTRACT

Adjustable data rate data communications may be provided. First, a plurality of remote data rates at which a remote device is configured to operate may be received. Then, a plurality of local data rates at which a local device is configured to operate may be received. A greatest one of the plurality of local data rates may comprise a cable data rate comprising a greatest rate supported by a length of cable connecting the local device and the remote device. Next, an operating data rate may be determined. The operating data rate may comprise a highest one of the plurality of local data rates that has a corresponding equivalent within the plurality of remote data rates. The local device may then be operated at the operating data rate.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a Division of U.S. application Ser. No. 14/273,681filed May 9, 2014, now U.S. Pat. No. 9,294,355 entitled “Adjustable DataRates”, which is incorporated herein by reference, which claims thebenefit under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 119(e) of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 61/916,390 filed Dec. 16, 2013, which is alsoincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to data communications.

BACKGROUND

The Ethernet physical layer is the physical layer component of theEthernet family of computer network standards. The Ethernet physicallayer evolved over a considerable time span and encompasses quite a fewphysical media interfaces and several magnitudes of speed. The speedranges from 1 Mbit/s to 100 Gbit/s, while the physical medium can rangefrom coaxial cable to twisted pair and optical fiber. In general,network protocol stack software will work similarly on all physicallayers.

Power Over Ethernet (POE) is a standardized system to provide electricalpower along with data on Ethernet cabling. This allows a single cable toprovide both data connection and electrical power to such devices asnetwork hubs or closed-circuit TV cameras. Unlike standards such asUniversal Serial Bus (USB) that also powers devices over data cables,POE allows long cable lengths.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the presentdisclosure. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a communications system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a communications system;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a method for providing adjustable data ratedata communications;

FIG. 4A shows a remote rate table;

FIG. 4B shows a local rate table; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method for providing power to acommunications device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Overview

Adjustable data rate data communications may be provided. First, aplurality of remote data rates at which a remote device is configured tooperate may be received. Then, a plurality of local data rates at whicha local device is configured to operate may be received. A greatest oneof the plurality of local data rates may comprise a cable data ratecomprising a greatest rate supported by a length of cable connecting thelocal device and the remote device. Next, an operating data rate may bedetermined. The operating data rate may comprise a highest one of theplurality of local data rates that has a corresponding equivalent withinthe plurality of remote data rates. The local device may then beoperated at the operating data rate.

Both the foregoing overview and the following example embodiment areexamples and explanatory only, and should not be considered to restrictthe disclosure's scope, as described and claimed. Further, featuresand/or variations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein.For example, embodiments of the disclosure may be directed to variousfeature combinations and sub-combinations described in the exampleembodiment.

Example Embodiments

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar elements.While embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example,substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elementsillustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may bemodified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosedmethods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limitthe disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is definedby the appended claims.

Current cabling infrastructures provide data communications overnetworks such as Ethernet networks. Many of the current cablinginfrastructures use Category 5e copper cables that may not support 10GEthernet data rates at 100 m cable length for example. Category 5ecables, however, may support up to 55 m cable lengths at 10 GE, whileCategory 6A cable may support 100 m cable lengths. Category 5e cable maybe limited at 10GE due to bandwidth and insertion loss of the cable. Forexample, 10G-BASE-T using 16 PAM may need 400 MHz bandwidth (e.g., 800Msymbol/sec per pair). While Category 5e may be specified to 100 MHzbandwidth, cable characterization measurement may shows Category 5e maysupport 200 MHz and 400 Msymbol/sec. With 400 Msymbol/sec, Category 5emay support 5GE using standard 10GBASE-T coding.

Embodiments of the disclosure may, for example, modify a 10G physicallayer (PHY) circuit to support any data rate between 10M to 10G using802.3 10GE constellation/coding and adding new speed support in auto-negmessages. The new scheme, consistent with embodiments of the disclosure,may use 10G training to establish a data rate speed using new auto-negmessages and may dynamically adjust a reference clock to the negotiateddata rate. Adjusting the reference clock to support 2.5G and 5G, forexample, may results in reducing bandwidth to 100 MHz/200 MHzrespectively. Consequently, embodiments of the disclosure may providedata rates such as 2.5G and 5G over 100 m of Category 5e cable. Withconventional systems, the bandwidth required would be the same as 10GE.In other words, for cable lengths between up to 100 m, embodiments ofthe disclosure may provide data rates between 10M and 10G (e.g., 2.5Gand 5G) and may not limit the data rates to 1G. Furthermore, embodimentsof the disclosure may perform data auto-negotiation between, forexample, CPU/ASIC via messages while maintaining the same clock to matchdata rates.

FIG. 1 shows a communications system 100. As shown in FIG. 1,communications system 100 may comprise a local device 105 and a remotedevice 110. Local device 105 and remote device 110 may comprise, but arenot limited to, networking devices such as routers, switches, accesspoints, or any type of devices used in a network. Consistent withembodiments of the disclosure local device 105 may supply power toremote device 110. For example, local device 105 may comprise universalpower over Ethernet (UPoE) power source equipment to power remote device110 that may comprise a UPoE powered device. Local device 105 mayoperate at a plurality of local data rates at which local device 105 maybe configured to operate. The plurality of local data rates may have anupper limit of as high as 100G and a lower limit as low as 10M. Theaforementioned upper and lower limits are examples and may comprise anyvalue. Remote device 110 may operate at a plurality of remote data ratesat which remote device 110 may be configured to operate. The pluralityof remote data rates may have an upper limit of as high as 100G and alower limit as low as 10M. The aforementioned upper and lower limits areexamples and may comprise any value.

Local device 105 and remote device 110 may be connected via a cable 115as shown in FIG. 1. Cable 115 may comprise any type of cable including,for example, Category 5, Category 5e, and Category 6 (e.g., 6a) cable.Category 5 may comprise a twisted pair cable for carrying signals. Eachtwisted pair in a Category 5 cable may have differing precise numbers oftwists per unit length to minimize crosstalk between the pair. Althoughcable assemblies containing 4 pair may be used, Category 5 is notlimited to just four pair. For example, backbone applications mayinvolve using up to 100 pair. This use of balanced lines may helppreserve a high signal-to-noise ratio despite interference from bothexternal sources and crosstalk from other pair. The Category 5especification may improve upon the Category 5 specification bytightening some crosstalk specifications and introducing new crosstalkspecifications that were not present in the original Category 5specification. Compared with Category 5 and Category 5e, Category 6 mayfeatures even more stringent specifications for crosstalk and systemnoise.

In addition to carrying data between local device 105 and remote device110, cable 115 may provide electrical power from local device 105 (UPoEpower source equipment) to remote device 110 (UPoE powered device).Consequently, cable 105 may provide both data and electrical power.

FIG. 2 shows communications system 100 in more detail. As shown in FIG.2, local device 105 may comprise a local processor 205, a local physicallayer (PHY) circuit 210, local integrated connectors 215, and a UPoEpower source equipment controller 220. Remote device 110 may comprise aremote processor 225, a remote PHY circuit 230, remote integratedconnectors 235, and a UPoE powered device controller 240.

Local processor 205 and remote processor 225 may each comprise anapplication-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). An ASIC may comprise anintegrated circuit (IC) customized for a particular use, rather thanintended for general-purpose use. Moreover, local processor 205 andremote processor 225 may each comprise a central processing unit (CPU).A CPU may comprise a hardware chip within a computer that carries outinstructions of a computer program by performing basic arithmetical,logical, and input/output operations.

Local PHY circuit 210 and remote PHY circuit 230 may each comprise PHYcircuits. A PHY circuit may connect a link layer device (e.g., a MediaAccess Control, or MAC address) to a physical medium such as an opticalfiber or copper cable (e.g., cable 115). A PHY circuit may include aPhysical Coding Sublayer (PCS) and a Physical Medium Dependent (PMD)layer. The PCS may encode and decode the data that is transmitted andreceived. The purpose of the encoding may be to make it easier for thereceiver to recover the signal.

Local integrated connectors 215 and remote integrated connectors 235 mayeach comprise integrated connectors. Integrated connectors may be usedto interface a device (e.g., local device 105 or remote device 110) tothe world outside the device. When constructing the device, anElectromagnetic Interference (EMI) containment feature called a “FaradayCage” may be designed into the device. A Faraday Cage may comprise anenclosure formed by conducting material or by a mesh of conductingmaterial. This enclosure may block external static and non-staticelectric fields. Consequently, a Faraday Cage may comprise anapproximation to an ideal hollow conductor. Externally or internallyapplied electromagnetic fields produce forces on charge carriers (i.e.,electrons) within the ideal hollow conductor. The charges areredistributed accordingly (e.g., electric currents may be generated).Once the charges have been redistributed so as to cancel the appliedelectromagnetic field inside, the currents stop.

Local device 105 may comprise UPoE power source equipment used to supplypower from local device 105 over cable 115. UPoE power source equipmentcontroller 220 may control the power supplied from local device 105.Remote device 110 may comprise a UPoE powered device. In other words,remote device 110 may receive both data and electrical power from cable115. UPoE powered device controller 240 may control the power receivedover cable 115 (e.g., from local device 105).

FIG. 3 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in amethod 300 consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure for providingadjustable data rate data communications. Method 300 may be implementedusing local device 105 as described in more detail above with respect toFIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Ways to implement the stages of method 300 will bedescribed in greater detail below.

Method 300 may begin at starting block 305 and proceed to stage 310where local device 105 may receive a plurality of remote data rates atwhich remote device 110 may be configured to operate. For example,remote PHY 230 may transmit to local PHY 210, over cable 115, a remoterate table 405 as shown in FIG. 4A. Remote rate table 405 may includethe plurality of remote data rates at which remote device 110 may beconfigured to operate. As shown in FIG. 4A, remote device 110 may beconfigured to operate at 10G, 5G, 2.5G, 1G, and 100M. Remote device 110may operate at other rates and is not limited to the aforementionedrates.

From stage 310, where local device 105 receives the plurality of remotedata rates at which remote device 110 may be configured to operate,method 300 may advance to stage 320 where local device 105 may receive aplurality of local data rates at which local device 105 may beconfigured to operate. For example, local processor 205 may transmit tolocal PHY 210 a local rate table 410 as shown in FIG. 4B. Local ratetable 410 may include the plurality of local data rates at which localdevice 105 may be configured to operate. As shown in FIG. 4B, localdevice 105 may be configured to operate at 5G, 2.5G, and 1G. Localdevice 105 may operate at other rates and is not limited to theaforementioned rates.

While both local device 105 and remote device 110 may be designed tooperate up to and including 10G, the cabling infrastructure (e.g., cable115) between local device 105 and remote device 110 may not support 10G.However, cable 115 may support a cable data rate less than 10G, butgreater than 1G. The cable data rate may comprise a greatest data ratesupported by a length of cable 115 connecting local device 105 andremote device 110. For example, Category 5e cables that may not support10G data rates at 100 m cable lengths, but may support 10G at less than100 m. Consequently, for Category 5e cable lengths up to 100 minclusively, a 10G cable data rate may not be supported.

Consistent with embodiments of the disclosure, Category 5e cable lengthsbetween up to 100 m inclusively may support cable data rates between 10Gand 1 G. For example, Category 5e cable lengths up to 100 m inclusivelymay support 5G or 2.5G cable data rates. While Category 5e may bespecified to 100 MHz bandwidth, cable characterization measurement mayshows Category 5e may support 200 MHz and 400 Msymbol/sec. Adjusting areference clock in local device 105 to support 2.5G and 5G, for example,may results in reducing bandwidth to 100 MHz/200 MHz respectively.Consequently, embodiments of the disclosure may provide data rates suchas 2.5G and 5G over 100 m of Category 5e cable. In other words, forcable lengths up to 100 m, embodiments of the disclosure may providedata rates between 1G and 10G (e.g., 2.5G and 5G) and may not limit thedata rates to 1G.

An operator may know, for example, that cable 115 is Category 5e and isbetween 0 m and 100 m inclusively in length. If cable 115 is Category 5eand is between 0 m and 100 m inclusively in length, the cable data ratemay be set between 10G and 1G (e.g., 5G or 2.5G). Consequently, agreatest one of the plurality of local data rates 415 in local ratetable 410 may be set at the cable data rate. For example, as shown inFIG. 4B, the cable data rate may comprise 5G. In this example, eventhough local device 105 may actually support higher data rates, thegreatest data rate supported may be set in local rate table 410 to alower rate comprising the cable data rate.

Once local device 105 receives the plurality of local data rates atwhich local device 105 is configured to operate in stage 320, method 300may continue to stage 330 where local device 105 may determine anoperating data rate comprising a highest one of the plurality of localdata rates that has a corresponding equivalent within the plurality ofremote data rates. For example, local PHY 210 may parse local rate table410 to determine the greatest value in local rate table 410. In theexample shown in FIG. 4B, local PHY 210 may parse local rate table 410to determine the greatest value in local rate table 410 to be 5G. Thenlocal PHY 210 may parse remote rate table 405 to determine if remoterate table 405 has a corresponding equivalent value in it. If remoterate table 405 does have a corresponding equivalent value in it, thenthis value becomes the operating data rate. If remote rate table 405does not have a corresponding equivalent value in it, then local PHY 210may parse local rate table 410 again to determine the next greatestvalue in local rate table 410 and repeat the process until it finds acorresponding equivalent value in remote rate table 405. In the exampleshown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, because the greatest value in local ratetable 410 is 5G and because there is a corresponding equivalent 5G valuewithin remote rate table 405, local PHY 210 may set the operating datarate to 5G.

After local device 105 determines the operating data rate comprising ahighest one of the plurality of local data rates that has acorresponding equivalent within the plurality of remote data rates instage 330, method 300 may proceed to stage 340 where local device 105may operate at the operating data rate. For example, while both localdevice 105 and remote device 110 may be designed to operate at 10G, thecabling infrastructure (e.g., cable 115) between local device 105 andremote device 110 may not support 10G, but may support a value greaterthan 1 G. Consequently, local device 105 may be operated and maycommunicate with remote device 110 at 5G because cable 115 may supportthis rate. Once local device 105 operates at the operating data rate instage 340, method 300 may then end at stage 350.

Consistent with embodiments of the disclosure, an error rate forcommunications between local device 105 and remote device 110 may betested. If the tested error rate is higher than a predetermined level,the operating data rate may be adjusted downward. For example, theoperating data rate may be adjusted downward to a second highest one ofthe plurality of local data rates that has a corresponding equivalentwithin the plurality of remote data rates. For the example shown in FIG.4A and FIG. 4B, the operating data rate may be adjusted downward to2.5G.

Consistent with embodiments of the disclosure, data auto-negotiation maybe performed between, for example, local processor 205 and local PHY 210(or remote PHY 230 and remote processor 225) via messages whilemaintaining the same clock and maintaining the same link speed (SERDESspeed). Consequently, embodiments of the disclosure may provide amechanism for multi-Gig communication between ASIC and PHY usingstandard XFI speed (e.g. 10G), but by replicating and sampling datawords to match the multi-Gig data rate. In other words,auto-negotiations between PHY and processor may set the data ratebetween local device 105 and remote device 110 to a rate lower than thelink rate (SerDes), but for all other communications, standard XFI maybe observed.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in amethod 500 consistent with an embodiment of the disclosure for providingpower to a communications device. Method 500 may be implemented usingcommunications system 100 as described in more detail above with respectto FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. Ways to implement the stages of method 500 will bedescribed in greater detail below.

Method 500 may begin at starting block 505 and proceed to stage 510where UPoE powered device controller 240 may negotiate a first powersupply level from UPoE power source equipment controller 220. Forexample, local device 105 may include UPoE power source equipment inorder to supply power over cable 115 to remote device 110 that maycomprise a UPoE powered device. In order to receive power from localdevice 105, UPoE powered device controller 240 may communicate with UPoEpower source equipment controller 220 and request power at the firstpower supply level. The first power supply level may comprise, but isnot limited to 12.5 W or 12.95 W. The first power supply level maycomprise enough power to power up remote PHY 230, but not enough topower remote processor 225.

From stage 510, where UPoE powered device controller 240 negotiates thefirst power supply level from UPoE power source equipment controller220, method 500 may advance to stage 520 where UPoE powered devicecontroller 240 may power up remote PHY circuit 230 once the first powersupply level has been supplied. For example, UPoE powered devicecontroller 240 may monitor cable 115. Once UPoE powered devicecontroller 240 determines that local device 105 has supplied power oncable 115 to remote device 110 at the first level, UPoE powered devicecontroller 240 may cause remote PHY 230 to power up.

Once UPoE powered device controller 240 powers up remote PHY circuit 230once the first power supply level has been supplied in stage 520, method500 may continue to stage 530 where remote PHY circuit 230 may negotiatea second power supply level from UPoE power source equipment controller220 after remote PHY circuit 230 is powered up. The second power supplylevel may be greater than the first power supply level. For example,remote PHY circuit 230 may communicate with UPoE power source equipmentcontroller 220 and ask for the power supplied from local device 105 overcable 115 to be stepped up from the first power supply level power tothe second power supply level. The second power supply level may beenough to power remote processor 225.

After remote PHY circuit 230 negotiates the second power supply levelfrom UPoE power source equipment controller 220 after remote PHY circuit230 is powered up in stage 530, method 500 may proceed to stage 540where remote PHY circuit 230 may power up remote processor 225. Forexample, remote PHY circuit 230 may monitor cable 115. Once remote PHYcircuit 230 determines that local device 105 has supplied power on cable115 to remote device 110 at the second level, remote PHY circuit 230 maycause remote processor 225 to power up. Once remote PHY circuit 230powers up remote processor 225 in stage 540, method 500 may then end atstage 550.

An embodiment consistent with the disclosure may comprise a system forproviding adjustable data rate data communications. The system maycomprise a local device. The local device may be operative to receive aplurality of remote data rates at which a remote device is configured tooperate. In addition, the remote device may be operative to receive aplurality of local data rates at which the local device is configured tooperate. A greatest one of the plurality of local data rates maycomprise a cable data rate comprising a greatest rate supported by alength of cable connecting the local device and the remote device. Theremote device may be further operative to determine an operating datarate comprising a highest one of the plurality of local data rates thathas a corresponding equivalent within the plurality of remote data ratesand operate at the operating data rate.

Another embodiment consistent with the disclosure may comprise a systemfor providing adjustable data rate data communications. The system maycomprise a cable comprising Category 5e and having a length betweenapproximately 0 m and approximately 100 m inclusively. The cable mayhave a first end and a second end. The system may further comprise aremote device connected to the first end of the cable and a local deviceconnected to the second end of the cable. The local device may beconfigured to receive, from the remote device, a plurality of remotedata rates at which the remote device is configured to operate. Thelocal device may be further configured to determine an operating datarate for the local device. The operating data rate may comprise ahighest one of a plurality of local data rates that has a correspondingequivalent within the plurality of remote data rates. A greatest one ofthe plurality of local data rates may comprise a cable data ratecomprising a greatest rate supported by the cable. The local device maybe further configured to operate at the operating data rate.

Yet another embodiment consistent with the disclosure may comprise asystem for providing power to a communications device. The system maycomprise a physical layer (PHY) circuit on a universal power overEthernet (UPoE) powered device and a UPoE powered device controller onthe UPoE powered device. The UPoE powered device controller may beconfigured to negotiate a first power supply level from a UPoE powersource equipment controller on a UPoE power source device and to powerup the PHY circuit once the first power supply level is has beensupplied. The PHY circuit may be configured to negotiate a second powersupply level from the UPoE power source equipment controller after thePHY circuit is powered up. The second power supply level may be greaterthan the first power supply level. The PHY circuit may be furtherconfigured to power up one of the following on the UPoE powered deviceonce the second power supply level has been supplied: a centralprocessing unit (CPU) and an application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC).

Embodiments of the disclosure, for example, may be implemented as acomputer process (method), a computing system, or as an article ofmanufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readablemedia. The computer program product may be a computer storage mediareadable by a computer system and encoding a computer program ofinstructions for executing a computer process. The computer programproduct may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by acomputing system and encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process. Accordingly, the present disclosure may beembodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, residentsoftware, micro-code, etc.). In other words, embodiments of the presentdisclosure may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-usable or computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the mediumfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific computer-readable medium examples (anon-exhaustive list), the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM). Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable mediumcould even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program isprinted, as the program can be electronically captured, via, forinstance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory.

Embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, are described abovewith reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, systems, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the disclosure. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur outof the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described, otherembodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the presentdisclosure have been described as being associated with data stored inmemory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or readfrom other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storagedevices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave fromthe Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosedmethods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reorderingstages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from thedisclosure.

While the specification includes examples, the disclosure's scope isindicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specificationhas been described in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example for embodiments of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a physical layer (PHY)circuit on a universal power over Ethernet (UPoE) powered device; and aUPoE powered device controller on the UPoE powered device, wherein theUPoE powered device controller is configured to, negotiate a first powersupply level from a UPoE power source equipment controller on a UPoEpower source device, wherein the UPoE power source device is remote fromthe apparatus and is connected to the apparatus though a cable operableto transfer data between the UPoE power source device and the apparatus,and wherein the cable is further operable to provide electrical powerfrom the UPoE power source device to the apparatus, and power up the PHYcircuit once the first power supply level is supplied on the cable; andwherein the PHY circuit is configured to, negotiate a second powersupply level on the cable from the UPoE power source equipmentcontroller after the PHY circuit is powered up with the first powersupply level, the second power supply level being greater than the firstpower supply level, and power up one of the following on the UPoEpowered device using the second power supply level once the second powersupply level has been supplied on the cable: a central processing unit(CPU) and an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the first power supply level is one ofapproximately 12.5 W and approximately 12.95 W.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 2, wherein the apparatus comprises one of the following: a networkswitch and a router.
 4. A method comprising: negotiating, by a UPoEpowered device controller on a UPoE powered device, a first power supplylevel from a UPoE power source equipment controller on a UPoE powersource device, wherein the UPoE power source device is remote from theapparatus and is connected to the apparatus though a cable operable totransfer data between the UPoE power source device and the apparatus,and wherein the cable is further operable to provide electrical powerfrom the UPoE power source device to the apparatus; powering up, by aUPoE powered device controller, a PHY circuit once the first powersupply level is supplied on the cable; negotiating, by the PHY circuit,a second power supply level on the cable from the UPoE power sourceequipment controller after the PHY circuit is powered up with the firstpower supply level, the second power supply level being greater than thefirst power supply level; and powering up, by the PHY circuit, one ofthe following on the UPoE powered device using the second power supplylevel once the second power supply level has been supplied on the cable:a central processing unit (CPU) and an application-specific integratedcircuit (ASIC).
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein negotiating the firstpower supply level comprises negotiating the first power supply levelcomprising one of the following: approximately 12.5 W and approximately12.95 W.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein negotiating, by the UPoEpowered device controller on the UPoE powered device, comprisesnegotiating, by the UPoE powered device disposed in an apparatuscomprising one of the following: a network switch and a router.
 7. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the cable comprises a Category 5e cable.8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cable is over 100 meterscarrying the data at a data rate of approximately 2.5 Gigabit.
 9. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the PHY circuit is connected to and fromthe application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and whereinmulti-gigabit data rates are supported by the PHY circuit.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9, wherein the PHY circuit is connected to and fromthe ASIC through a fast auto-negotiation process to determine anappropriate data rate.
 11. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein a SerialGigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) protocol is used toaccommodate the multi-gigabit rates.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11,wherein the SGMII protocol is coded to carry data at a plurality of thefollowing Ethernet data rates: 10 Megabit, 100 Megabit, 1 Gigabit, 2.5Gigabit, 5 Gigabit, and 10 Gigabit.
 13. The method of claim 4, whereinpowering up, by the UPoE powered device controller, the PHY circuitcomprises: monitoring the monitor cable; and causing, upon determiningthat the UPoE power source device has supplied power on the cable at thefirst supply level power, by the UPoE powered device controller, the PHYcircuit to power up.
 14. The method of claim 4, wherein negotiating, bythe PHY circuit, the second power supply level from the UPoE powersource equipment controller comprises: communicating, by the PHY circuitwith the UPoE power source equipment controller; and requesting for thepower supplied from the UPoE power source device over the cable to bestepped up from the first power supply level power to the second powersupply level.
 15. The method of claim 4, wherein the PHY circuit isconnected to and from the application-specific integrated circuit(ASIC), and wherein multi-gigabit data rates are supported by the PHYcircuit.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the PHY circuit isconnected to and from the ASIC through a fast auto-negotiation processto determine an appropriate data rate.
 17. The method of claim 15,wherein a Serial Gigabit Media Independent Interface (SGMII) protocol isused to accommodate the multi-gigabit rates.